Suppression of low-dose hyper-radiosensitivity in human lung cancer cell line A549 by radiation-induced autophagy

This study explored the role of radiation-induced autophagy in low-dose hyperradiosensitivity (HRS) in the human lung cancer cell line A549. A549 cells, either treated with an autophagic inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA), or with a vehicle control, were irradiated at different low doses (≤0.5 Gy). The generation of autophagy was examined by laser scanning confocal microscopy. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of microtubule-associated protein l light chain 3B II (LC3B-II). Flow cytometry (FCM) and clonogenic assays were used to measure the fraction of surviving cells at the low irradiation doses. Our results showed that there was a greater inhibition of autophagic activity, but a higher degree of low-dose HRS in A549 cells treated with 3-MA than in control group. Our data demonstrated that radiation-induced autophagy is correlated with HRS in A549 cells, and is probably one of the mechanisms underlying HRS.